Testing for COVID-19 can be scary. Whether or not the test comes back positive, factors such as the wait and uncertainty can have significant impacts.
KUNR Youth Media reporter Isabella Wolf explains what the process and wait were like to receive a COVID-19 test.
I was hanging out with someone and I got sick. I went home and I didn't think anything of it. Then my mom was like, “Yeah, you definitely have a fever.” And I was like, “Oh, I better tell my friend that I was with about what happened.”
So, I told him. I said, “Hey, this is what's happening, we were just hanging out for like, hours, right? I have a fever. I'm gonna go get tested for COVID tomorrow.” I let him know. I was like, “I am so sorry this happened.”
So, I went into urgent care. The guy talked to me and he was like, “Yeah, it's probably just a stomach bug. It's not likely that it's COVID.” So, they did the test. They stick this thing up your nostrils and it's not very pleasant, but it's fine.
My friend and I both stayed at our houses for like, the whole week. My parents still had to go to work and stuff, but it was so much waiting.
After I had rested a little bit, I started feeling better, but I was still waiting for those results. My friend that I was with was also waiting. So, they said like three to five days, right? So, three days came up, and I was like, “Okay, my friend can stop having to call into his work, and I can go back to work, and I can go back to school, and everything will be great.”
I think after five days, we finally got the results. That doesn't seem like that long, but oh my gosh, it felt like forever. Luckily, they came back negative. I was very, very grateful for that. Obviously, I was feeling much better by then. It was really nice to be able to kind of go a little bit back to life.
I feel like I've definitely been a little more careful since that experience. After hearing everything about the virus for the past year, it was really scary when I thought that [infecting my friend] was a possibility.
It's no joke. Nobody's immune. Obviously, certain groups are more susceptible than others but it's affecting everybody.
Isabella Wolf is a senior at the Academy of Arts, Careers and Technology in Reno. KUNR’s Youth Media program is a special partnership with the Washoe County School District to train the next generation of journalists.
KUNR's Jayden Perez adapted this story for the web.
